Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223 - June 24/25, 1291) was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272. Although she was completely devoted to her husband, and staunchly defended him against the rebel [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|'Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester']], she was very much hated by the Londoners. This was because she had brought a large number of relatives with her to England in her retinue; these were known as "the Savoyards", and they were given influential positions in the government and realm. On one occasion, Eleanor's barge was attacked by angry citizens who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs and vegetables. Eleanor was the mother of five children including the future King Edward I of England. She also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry and as a leader of fashion. Eleanor was a member of the [[House of Aragon|'House of Aragon']] by birth and a member of the [[House of Plantagenet|'House of Plantagenet']] by marriage. 'Family' Born in Aix-en-Provence, she was the second eldest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence (1198 - 1245) and Beatrice of Savoy (1205 - 1267), the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and his second wife Margaret of Geneva. All four of their daughters became queens. Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty. She was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes. Piers Langtoft speaks of her as "The erle's daughter, the fairest of my life". On June 22, 1235, Eleanor was bethrothed to King Henry III of England (1207 - 1272). Eleanor was probably born in 1223; Matthew Paris describes her as being "jamque duodennem" (already twelve) when she arrived in the Kingdom of England for her marriage. 'Marriage and Issue' Eleanor was married to King Henry III of England on January 14, 1236. She had never seen him prior to the wedding at Canterbury Cathedral and had never set foot in his kingdom. Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. She was dressed in a shimmering golden gown which was tightly-fitted to the waist, and then flared out in wide pleats to her feet. The sleeves were long and lined with ermine. After riding to London the same day where a procession of citizens greeted the bridal pair, Eleanor was crowned queen consort of England in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey which was followed by a magnificent banquet with the entire nobility in full attendance. Eleanor and Henry together had five children: *[[Edward I of England|'Edward I']] (1239 - 1307) - married Eleanor of Castile '(1241 - 1290) in 1254, by whom he had issue, including his heir 'Edward II; he married Margaret of France in 1299, by whom he had issue. *'Margaret of England '(1240 - 1275) - married King Alexander III of Scotland, by whom she had issue. *[[Beatrice of England|'Beatrice of England']] (1242 - 1275) - married [[John II, Duke of Brittany|'John II, Duke of Brittany']], by whom she had issue. *[[Edmund Crouchback|'Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster']] (1245 - 1296) - married Aveline de Froz in 1269, who died four years later without issue; married [[Blanche of Artois|'Blanche of Artois']] in 1276, by whom he had issue. *'Katharine' - (November 25, 1253 - May 3, 1257) Four others are listed, but their existence is in doubt as there is no contemporary record of them. These are: *'Richard' (1247 - 1256) *'John' (1250 - 1256) *'William' (1251 - 1256) *'Henry' (1256 - 1257) Eleanor was renowned for her learning, cleverness and skill at writing poetry, as well as her beauty; she was also known as a leader of fashion, continually importing clothes from France. She often wore parti-colored cottes (a type of tunic), gold or silver girdles into which a dagger was casually thrust, she favored red silk damask, and decorations of gilt quatrefoil and to cover her dark hair she wore jaunty pillbox caps. Eleanor introduced a new type of wimple to England, which was high, "into which the head receded until the face seemed like a flower in an enveloping spathe". Eleanor seems to have been especially devoted to her eldest son, Edward; when he was deathly ill in 1246, she stayed with him at the abbey at Beaulieu in Hampshire for three weeks, long past the time allowed by monastic rules. It was because of her influence that King Henry granted the duchy of Gascony to Edward in 1249. Her youngest child, Katharine, seems to have had a degenerative disease that rendered her deaf. When the little girl died at the age of three, both her royal parents suffered overwhelming grief. 'Unpopularity' She was a confident consort to Henry, but she brought in her retinue a large number of cousins, "the Savoyards," and her influence with the King and her unpopularity with the English barons created friction during Henry's reign. Eleanor was devoted to her husband's cause, stoutly contested Simon de Montfort, raising troops in France for Henry's cause. On July 13, 1263, she was sailing down the Thames on a barge when her barge was attacked by citizens of London. Eleanor stoutly hated the Londoners who returned her hatred; in revenge for their dislike Eleanor had demanded from the city all the back payments due on the monetary tribute known as queen-gold, by which she received a tenth of all fines which came to the Crown. In addition to the queen-gold other such fines were levied on the citizens by the Queen on the thinnest of pretexts. In fear for her life as she was pelted with stones, loose pieces of paving, dried mud, rotten eggs and vegetables, Eleanor was rescued by Thomas Fitzthomas, the Mayor of London, and took refuge at the bishop of London's home. In 1272 Henry died, and her son Edward, who was 33 years old, became Edward I, King of England. She remained in England as Dowager Queen, and raised several of her grandchildren, Edward's son Henry and daughter Eleanor, and Beatrice's son [[John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond|'John']]. When her grandson Henry died in her care in 1274, Eleanor mourned him dearly, and his heart was buried at the priory at Guildford which she founded in his memory. Eleanor retired to a convent but remained in touch with her son, King Edward, and her sister, Queen Margaret of France. Eleanor died on June 24/25, 1291 in Amesbury, eight miles north of Salisbury, England. She was buried on September 11, 1291 in the Abbey of St. Mary and St. Melor, Amesbury on December 9th. Her heart was taken to London where it was buried at the Franciscan priory. Category:Direct Ancestors Category:Ancestors in 13th Century Category:English Royalty Category:English Ancestors Category:French Ancestors Category:French Nobility Category:House of Aragon Category:House of Plantagenet